To get more organic search and improve the search ranking we do On Page Optimization. It means making a change on the website and thereby making it more Search Engine friendly.
This helps to improve the conversion rate and helps a business earn more profit. One of the major things to focus while doing on page optimization is the URL structure of the website.
What is a URL?
Uniform Resource Locator is an address for all the documents and other resources on the Internet. We can easily read the URL and know what is on the website.
It replaces the number used by a computer to talk to servers. Just like our home has an address a website on the internet also needs an address, using which one can easily find the website on search engines.
Example: The URL for one of my blogs on Digital Vidya is https://www.digitalvidya.com/blog/4-evolution-in-search-engine-google/
So if you want to visit the site, simply open your web browser and type that URL into the address field.
The Anatomy of a URL:
A URL usually looks something like this:
- It (usually, but not always) starts with “https://” or “https://”
- Next, comes “WWW”
- and then the name of the website you want to visit
- Then by specific directories where the information you want to read is stored, separated by / marks
- and finally, the location of the page you want to read.
URL Structure with Details
The Structure of the URL consists of the following parts:
1. Protocol
The first part of the URL is Protocol. It is used to denote how the data is being transferred from one network to another.
Example – HTTPS and HTTP
HTTP – It means HyperText Transfer Protocol and it is an unsecured type of protocol used between networks that’s why malicious activities may happen using this protocol.
HTTPS – It is a secured version of the HTTP protocol. The security of the data being transferred between two networks using this type of protocol is high.
2. SubDomain
It is the second part in the structure of the URL after the protocol, it is part of the main root domain that’s why it is known as Sub Domain.
Example – Some businesses use two versions of the website one for the mobile user and one for a desktop user than for the mobile version the site URL will be like mobile.maindomain.com so here mobile is the subdomain as
mentioned in the above figure.
3. Root Domain or Second Level Domain
The third part in the URL structure is the root domain also known as the second level domain because this is the name of the domain for which we purchase or take a license for a limited time until the renewal from domain service providers like Godaddy.com.
Example- The URL of the blog “career in digital marketing” on our website look like below:
In the above URL “Digital Vidya” is the main Root Domain or second-level domain.
4. Top-Level Domain
The top-level domain comes after the root or main domain and is used to denote the geographical area for which it was created, what is the purpose of it, or which organization owns it.
Example- www.xyz.in – Here “in” denotes India so this site is made for Indian audiences.
www.abc.gov.in – Here “gov. in” denote that this website will be used by the government and “in” in last means India so this site belongs to Indian government agencies.
5. Path and Directory
The fourth part of the URL is “Path” and the fifth part is known as “Directory”. The path is used to denote the way where exactly the file or resource is kept in the host server which a web client wants to access. It is separated by the forward slash “/” in the URL.
Directory denotes the name of the folder or directory where a file, resource, or content is saved.
Example – Below is the URL of the blog name “Marketing Analytics” on our website
In the above URL the “/” before the blog is denoted as a Path where marketing-analytics content is kept in the host server.
And “blog” is the name of the directory in which the “marketing-analytics” file is stored.
6. Slug
Slug is mostly the last part of any URL. The Slug is used to denote a specific document, file, content, or resource on the website.
Example – Below is the URL of the blog name “Integrated Marketing” on our website.
In the above example “integrated marketing” is the resource, file, document, or content in the host server which is also known as Slug.
7. Anchor or Fragment
It is used to denote internal page references or particular portions in a particular web page that’s why it is also known as Anchor or Fragment.
Example – www.example.com/blog/xyz-abc#what
So when we open this type of link and the last part is separated by “#” then it is a fragment in URL or anchor which will take you directly to that part mentioned after the “#” in the webpage as soon as we open the link.
So in the above example, the cursor will go directly to “what” in the “xyz-abc” page of the website.
The Importance of URL Structure in SEO?
Well as we say the first impression is the last impression. The same goes with the website the first impression of the website is the URL.
If the URL is confusing and not clear then people will not take any interest in the website and the bounce rate will be high.
The website will not even rank high in the search engine because Google also takes the URL into consideration.
Getting a good URL Structure can be a bit tricky but with proper planning and precaution, it is possible.
There is no fixed formula to make a good URL Structure but there are some rules following them will ensure we get the most out of our URL and set our site up for future SEO success.
URL structure has some benefits:-
1) Improving User Experience
If the design of the URL is correct then it is beneficial for both humans and search engines. They can easily understand what the landing page of the website is all about.
For example, the Digital Vidya URL below is called a semantically accurate URL as it clearly shows the destination. This will provide the user to understand what is inside and the chances of a user clicking the link increases.
2) Ranking
Although URL plays a minor role in determining the rank of the page in the search engine and also the relevancy of the query. But using a keyword in the URL can also improve the page ranking.
It is important to remember that while URL improves the website visibility. URLs alone do not have a major impact on the rank of the page.
Therefore, it will be waste of time to create URLs simply to include keywords in them.
3) Linking
When a proper URL is there then it can also help to serve as a link while sharing information on various social media channels and other platforms.
We can easily copy and paste the link on various channels and can drive more traffic to the website from other channels.
Example:-
Important factors while deciding on URL Structure
Creating a good URL structure is not easy and has a lot of science behind creating URLs for maximum SEO as well as logic.
There are a few things that are required to be kept in mind while deciding the URL of the website. These are important factors and will help to improve the ranking. Some of them are:-
1. Taking Care While Selecting the Domain Name
Using top-level domain names can help, it will not directly impact ranking but will improve and build trust among customers. Top-level domains “.com” domain rather than “.biz,” “.pro,” “.tel,” etc.
Although it is not realistic to be able to land your brand name with a “.com” domain (there were over 160.9 million “.com” domains until the end of the year 2022 which will increase more in 2023, it’s something to keep in mind if you’re choosing a domain in the future.
It is advisable to use subdomains for the content rather than using subfolders.
2. Including Keywords in URL
Keyword means the term that the user uses to search for content. Keywords on a page should be relevant to what people are searching for.
So they have a better chance of finding your content among the results for that we can do some keyword research for finding trending keywords that will increase the chances of high traffic.
Including the keyword in the URL is a good idea as it will help to improve the ranking of the page. It is one of the most prominent elements searchers consider when selecting which site to click.
When there is no anchor text then the URL acts as an anchor text. It also helps the user understand that they are clicking on the page that is relevant to what they are searching for.
It is also important to remember to never stuff a URL with too many keywords one or two keywords in the URL is enough.
Also, one should not repeat the keywords unnecessarily. Repetition is pointless because Google will in no way reward you for using a keyword that appears more than once.
Also, it makes the content look spammy and reduces the creditability in eyes of search users.
3. Try to maintain Short URL
Having a URL Structure of less than 50-60 characters is a good practice and nothing to worry about but a URL with 100+ characters is not a very good idea.
Although having long URLs is not an issue with search engines and they can easily process it hampers users’ experience. Shorter URLs are easy to copy and paste, share on social media, and embed.
The shorter the better. A graph shows that Google’s ranking declines when the length of the URL increases.
4. Use of Hyphens and Lower case letters
While framing URL structure it is better to use hyphens for giving spaces between words instead of using underscores. Spaces can work, but they render awkwardly in URLs as %20, which detracts from the readability of your pages. Try to avoid them if possible (it’s usually pretty easy in a modern CMS).
Also, sticking to lowercase while drafting URL is the best idea, and avoid using uppercase as it leads to 404 errors on certain servers.
5. Match Title With URL
There should be a good amount of clarity in the title of the website and the URL. It is a good practice to always match the title of the page with the appropriate URL.
The title is basically the headline of the page and it gives a clear idea to the user about what to expect on the page matching the title with the URL increases the chance of the user clicking on the URL.
Conclusion
Drafting the URL Structure requires a lot of precision and hard work it might seem easy while reading the above points but once you start a lot of things it required to be dealt with.
The main aim of URL structure is to please both search engines and users who are searching to search engines.
To summarize one has to choose a proper domain name, it should be readable, and it should have 50-60 characters with hyphens and lower case with matching the title.
All of this improves the URL which in turn helps in improving the ranking.
FAQs:
1. What are the parts of the URL?
The parts of the URL are:
- Scheme or Protocol
- Sub Domain
- Second Level Domain or Main Domain
- Top Level Domain
- Path
- Directory
- Slug
- Fragment or Anchor
2. What is an example of an URL?
Example of a URL: https://www.digitalvidya.com/digital-marketing/
Here “https: means the protocol or scheme used, “www” Is the subdomain, “digitalvidya” is a second-level domain or main root domain, “com” means top-level domain, and “digital marketing” is a slug.
3. Which is the most important part of the URL?
The most important part of a URL is a “Domain” because other parts of URL may match with different websites like protocol, slugs, fragments, etc., but the
The domain will always be different than other websites because we purchase the license for a domain for a limited period of time until the renewal process the domain will be ours and no one else can use that domain.
Now we are the owner of that URL and Domain as we have purchased it from Domain Service providers like GoDaddy.
4. What is the first part of an URL called?
The first part of the URL is a Protocol or Scheme used for transfer of data between two networks.
In this mainly 2 types of protocol used like http and https, http is unsecure version of protocol and https is the secured version of protocol.
If the transfer of data between two networks uses https protocol then the chances of hacking the data are less but http is prone to hacking activities.
5. What is Path in the URL Structure?
Path in the URL structure denotes where exactly the particular file resource is kept in the host server when the client is trying to access a particular resource. It is separated by a forward slash “/”.
Example: https://www.digitalvidya.com/blog/career-in-digital-marketing/
Here forward slash “/” before the blog denotes Path.
So career-in-digital-marketing is the file, document, or content that which client wants to access, and this content is kept inside the “Blog” Directory in the host server.
Good information, but need some more tips for the on-page optimization. Waiting for the new blog/post.